Switched-mode power converters are widely used in many different electronic applications such as automotive, industrial, household or consumer electronic applications, to name only a few. A power converter is configured to convert an input power received at an input into an output power available at an output. The input power is defined by an input current and an input voltage received at the input, and the output power is defined by an output current and an output voltage available at an output, wherein at least one parameter of at least one of the input current and the input voltage is different from the corresponding parameter of the output current and the output voltage. A DC/DC converter, for example, may receive a DC input voltage with a first voltage level and supply a DC output voltage with a second level higher or lower than the first level. An AC/DC converter, for example, may receive an AC input voltage and supply a DC output voltage.
A power converter includes a plurality of electronic devices. These devices may include parasitic inductances and/or parasitic capacitances. For example, a transformer may include a parasitic inductance (often referred to as leakage inductance) and a power transistor such as a power MOSFET may include a parasitic capacitance (often referred to as output capacitance). Such parasitic devices may form a parasitic resonant circuit, whereas the parasitic resonant circuit can be excited during operation of the power converter. Exciting a parasitic resonant circuit can cause voltage oscillations with voltage amplitudes that exceed the voltage rating of the devices employed in the power converter. There is therefore a need to limit the amplitude of parasitic oscillations in a power converter.